Eight leading ICT companies have teamed together for a cross organisational mentoring program aimed at developing leadership competencies in executive females within the technology sector.

The managing directors of Dell, Altiris, Cisco, EMC, Ingram Micro, Intel, LAN Systems and Lexmark, today launched the inaugural Women in IT Executive Mentoring (WITEM) Program.

The 12 month pilot is designed to address a number of barriers to women’s advancement such as a lack of general management experience, exclusion from informal networks and stereotypes about women’s roles and abilities.

The proportion of females of the Australian labour workforce is approximately 44%, however the Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show women comprise only 20.5% of the IT workforce, in comparison to accounting and finance with 42.2%, and media and the arts with 56.9%. 

In recent years the proportion of women studying computer science has been around 25% and declining.

The WITEM Program has been endorsed by the Federal Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts Senator Helen Coonan, following a recent summit which looked at ways to encourage more women and young people into Australia's ICT sector.

“The WITEM Program is exactly the type of proactive program we had hoped the recent partICipaTion summit would encourage,” said Senator Coonan.  “I applaud the participating organisations for this initiative, in particular Dell who have been the driving force behind the program.”

The program will involve the managing directors from eight leading IT organisations, spanning hardware, software and distribution, each mentoring a female mentee from an alternate company.

Mentees will be carefully selected for their experience, commitment and drive for progression. In turn they will receive coaching and visibility from senior executives within the industry, accelerated career development, improvements in existing skills and performance, ongoing involvement in cross organisational networks, and a clear career path as defined by them.

 “The diminishing role of women in IT has been cause for much discussion yet relatively little action” said Joe Kremer, vice president and managing director of Dell Australia and New Zealand. “Ultimately our goal is to establish a legacy of cross organisational corporate culture that facilitates the sharing of ideas and experience, increases loyalty and commitment by employees, and fosters an environment that attracts, retains and progresses female talent.”

Other organisations continue to express interest in the WITEM Program and it is expected the participating number of companies will double in size over the next 12 months.

All participants will work closely with Orijen, a mentoring specialist consultancy group, who will facilitate the program.